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January 2013 Archives

Tuesday January 29, 2013

It's a major investment---a major appliance. But before you make that purchase...spare a few moments for Steve Brannan. He's the owner of Brannan's Appliance Repair in Toronto and he'll offer some advice on what you should consider when sizing up that new fridge, washer or stove. Steve will join guest host Karen Gordon this coming Saturday.

Sunday January 27, 2013

0730 The play is called "Rare". With it, playwright Judith Thompson and a group of young adults with Down syndrome have created a piece using their own life experiences, thoughts, feelings and words to give us an open window into their world.
Judith talked with Mary Ito about the play and her motivation in writing it. Listen (runs 9:50)
All the details about "Rare" are at theYoung Centre website.

0800 Canada Reads is almost here. CBC Radio's annual battle of the books---hosted by Jian Ghomeshi---will start on February 11. And Erin Balser from CBC Books online came by to brief Mary on this year's contending books. Listen (runs 11:13)
All the details are available on theCanada Reads

0830 She's the proverbial triple-threat. Amy McConnell is a singer...a film-maker AND a voice actor. And she's successful in all three fields! Amy's new album---a collaboration with trumpeter William Sperandei---is called "Stealing Genius". Here's Mary's conversation with Amy:Listen (runs 10:20)NOTE: Music clearance restrictions prohibit inclusion of music originally contained in this item.
Amy and William will be on stage at Toronto's Old Mill Inn on March the 8th. You'll also find them at Hugh's Room in Toronto on March the 27th.
All the details are on Amy and William's website.

Saturday January 26, 2013

0700 Fresh Air host Mary Ito featured a preview of today's installment of CBC Radio's "The Debaters". The show airs just after the one o'clock news. Learn more at The Debaters website.

0730 New research has shown that personalized-music has the power to awaken deeply locked memories in people with Alzheimer's disease and other dementias. And that's what Marija Padjen and Sabrina McCurbin from the Alzheimer Society came in to talk about with Mary.Listen (runs 7:20)
Learn more at the Alzheimer Society website.

0800 Over-prescription of antibiotic drugs is becoming a major concern in the medical world. And it could have major implications for our ability to fight bacterial diseases. Kelly Grindrod---an assistant professor at the School of Pharmacy at the University of Waterloo and also a community pharmacist---joined Mary to elaborate.
Learn more about Kelly at her University of Waterloo webpage

0830 Two long-time Liberals---former MPPs Monique Smith and Sean Conway---joined Mary to preview the balloting for a new leader at the Ontario Liberal leadership convention. Listen (runs 15:10)
The convention takes place today in Toronto. CBC will have extensive coverage of the voting. All the details are at the CBC News website.

Sunday January 20, 2013

0730 Shakura S'Aida and Paul Reddick have much in common. They're both musicians---BLUES musicians, to be precise, they released new albums in 2012, and they have multiple nominations at this year's Maple Blues Awards (on January 21). Shakura and Paul joined Mary Ito to talk about their mutual lives in the blues. Listen (runs 12:13)NOTE: Music clearance restrictions prohibit inclusion of music originally contained in this item.
Learn more about their music at Shakura and Paul's websites.

0800 Windows are key elements in heritage houses. No one knows that better than Shannon Kyles. She's a professor of archirecture at Mohawk College in Hamilton and heritage architecture editor at Arabella Magazine. And she joined Mary to detail the finer points of the windows that define Ontario's historical homes.Listen (runs 10:59)
Learn more about this and related topics on Shannon's Ontario Architecture website.

0830 Ontario Liberals will pick a new leader on January 26th. The two front-runners are Sandra Pupatello and Kathleen Wynne. CBC News provincial affairs reporter Mike Crawley compared and contrasted the two contenders when he joined Mary.Listen (runs 12:20)
Mike will be part of the CBC News team's extensive coverage of the Ontario Liberal leadership convention. It all begins this coming Friday (Jan 25) and continues through the voting and final results on Saturday (Jan 26)on CBC Radio One, CBC News Network and CBC DOT CA. In the meantime, keep up to date on developments in the Ontario Liberal leadership contest by visiting the CBC News website.

Saturday January 19, 2013

0730 We're still at the peak of a bad flu and cold season for many parts of the province. If you're you're looking for help through alternative medicine, you may have questions. Mary Ito spoke with a naturopathic doctor. Chris Habib is on the faculty of the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine. He's a naturopathic doctor who's also the clinic director of Mahaya Forest Hill, an integrative health clinic in Toronto.Listen (runs 11:13)

0800 Sure, it's deepest January. But now is the time to plan your summer renovation. So says a man who should know. Jorge Rodrigues is president of J. B. Rodrigues & Associates in Toronto. He's also Fresh Air's go-to guy for home repair reno and repair advice. He joined Mary to walk her though the ABCs of getting your summer reno underway...right NOW!Listen (runs 9:09)

0830 Have you ever wanted to pitch your business proposal on CBC TV's "Dragons Den"? You can audition to do just that in Toronto and a slew of other Ontario communities over the next month and a half. "Dragons Den" producer Michelle MacMillian joined Mary Ito to talk about the A-B-Cs of getting on the show.Listen (runs 11:26)
The first round of auditions takes place at the CBC Broadcasting Centre in Toronto today (January 19) between 10:00 AM and 5:00 PM. Future Ontario auditions include Windsor, London, Oshawa, Sudbury, Thunder Bay, Peterborough, and Hamilton...before the auditions return to Toronto in early March.
Full details, including the complete list of Ontario auditions, can be found at the Dragon's Den website.

Saturday January 19, 2013

...but only one position to fill. Ontario Liberals are about to choose a new leader and, by extension, our next provincial premier. That happens on Saturday, January 26th. And this coming Sunday, CBC News provincial affairs reporter Mike Crawley will join Mary Ito to profile the two people who are "top of the heap" in the race for Dalton McGuinty's job.

Saturday January 19, 2013

Buika
Born on the island of Mallorca to parents who came to Spain from Equatorial Guinea, Buika's breathy voice conveys deep emotional resonance.
Following a sold-out Canadian debut at Koerner Hall in 2010, the Spanish singer returns to Toronto. Do not miss this chance to experience her traditional coplas (female-centric Spanish torch songs), sophisticated flamenco and jazz cross-pollinations, gypsy rumba, beautifully rendered rancheras, and Afro-Cuban rhythms.
CBC Toronto is the proud media sponsor and Fresh Air's Mary Ito will host this concert. It takes place on Friday, January the 25th at Koerner Hall in Toronto.
All the details are on the CBC Community Page website.

Friday January 18, 2013

...if you dare! The hit CBC TV show is holding auditions for people who want to pitch their businesses to the Dragons. Tune in to Fresh Air on Saturday to hear what show producer Michelle MacMillian and Dragon Kevin O'Leary have to say to YOU about the audition process when they join Mary Ito. That's right after the 8:30 regional news.

Sunday January 13, 2013

0730 Mark Rheaume dropped by to reflect on the year-past in music. And he shared with Mary Ito his Top Four "Memorable Musical" selections from all of the "Mark's Music" entries in 2012. You can see which songs Mr. Rheaume chose by visiting his Mark's Music column.

0800 It's been a confusing and frusutrating week for parents of public elementary school students in Ontario. The threat of a one day walkout by teachers on Friday had loomed. That walkout was cancelled after an Ontario Labour Relations Board ruling. But the on-going sense of uncertainty affecting the public school system. continues. Mary discussed the situation with Annie Kidder, executive director of People For Education, an independent, parent-led organization working to improve public education in Ontario's English, French and Catholic schools.Listen (runs 10:32)
Learn more about what Annie's group is up to at the People For Education website.

0830 Film critic Kevin Courrier joined Mary to talk about the films of Woody Allen.Listen (runs 12:40)
Kevin will examine the films of Woody Allen in a lecture series called, "Woody Allen: Past and Present," which starts Monday, January 14 at Toronto's Miles Nadal Jewish Community Centre.
The details are at theMiles Nadal website.
If you'd like to read some of Kevin's film reviews, you'll find them at the Critics At Large website.

Sunday January 13, 2013

...but only one position to fill. Ontario Liberals are about to choose a new leader and, by extension, our next provincial premier. That happens on Saturday, January 26th. And this coming Sunday, CBC News provincial affairs reporter Mike Crawley will join Mary Ito to profile the two people who are "top of the heap" in the race for Dalton McGuinty's job.

Saturday January 12, 2013

0730 What's happening with winter weather? That's what winter sports enthusiasts and winter resort operators are probably asking. And Mary Ito put that very question to a man in the know. Daniel Scott Daniel Scott specializes in this area. He holds the Canada Research Chair in Global Change and Tourism at the University of Waterloo.Listen (runs 7:11)
Learn more about Daniel at his University of Waterloo webpage.

0800 Did you make a New Year's resolution? have you managed to maintain it? It can be a challenge. Dr. Mike Evans joined Mary to talk about this perennial issue. You can hear their conversation at Dr. Mike's column.

0830 It's colds and flu season. And this winter is worse than most. But do any of those cold and flu remedies actually work. Mary put that question to University of Waterloo School of Pharmacy assistant professor Kelly Grindrod. Kelly is also a community pharmacist.Listen (runs 10:25)
Learn more about Kelly on her University of Waterloo web page.

Saturday January 12, 2013

It's been over a week now since New Year's Eve. How's that resolution treating you?
According to estimates, about half of us make one...but following though can be a struggle.
Dr. Mike Evans stopped by the Fresh Air studio to talk about the challenges and how to surmount them. Listen (runs 10:26)
Have a look at Mike's You Tube video on New Year's resolutions.
And check out Dr. Mike's website for more information on this and other health-related topics.

Tuesday January 8, 2013

He's our special set of "ears" when it comes to new music from Ontario-based artists. And now, after careful consideration, Mark Rheaume is ready to reveal his four "most memorable" selections from the past year. Tune in this coming Sunday to hear which artists made the cut. That's on the January episode of "Mark's Music"...right after the 7:30 news.

Tuesday January 8, 2013

Citizen Talin---AKA Talin Vartanian---- is taking a year's sabbatical from her CBC chores. But she left Mary Ito with a collection of easy-to-implement strategies to make 2013 a better year for consumers.Listen (runs 9:24)
Citizen Talin will return in January of 2014.

Sunday January 6, 2013

0730 Mary Ito talked with the producer of CBC Television's new police drama "Cracked", Calum de Hartog (who's also a Toronto police officer), and executive producer Peter Raymont.
Learn more about the show at Cracked's website.

0800 Mary talked with Caroline Davis who's a professor and health scientist at York University about food addiction and the science behind it. Listen (runs 10:16)

0830 Mary talked with Cynthia Wesley-Esquimaux, a professor and long time aboriginal leader who's also a member of the Chippewa of Georgina Island First Nation about the Idle No More movement.

Saturday January 5, 2013

0730 Consumer columnist Citizen Talin joined Mary Ito to share a grab-bag of useful ideas to help you launch 2013. You can hear that conversation by visiting Talin's column.

0800 Mary talked with Dr. Heather Ross, the director of the Cardiac Transplant Program at Toronto General Hospital, and heart transplant patient Dale Shippam of Thunder Bay about their trip to the South Pole as part of the Test Your Limits programme which is designed to overturn misconceptions people have about what transplant patients can and can't do.Listen (runs 12:08)
Learn more at the Test Your Limits website.

0830 CBC's Hockey Night In Canada on Radio host Gord Stellick offered Mary's his thoughts on the liklihood of a settlement in the on-going lock-out of NHL players by the team owners.